Hey everyone, I’ll start off by mentioning that I am in the process of switching my 2GIG!Go from Vivint to SuretyCam. Right now my system is still locked out but soon I am hoping to actually get to use my system to its full potential. I also recently learned about Philips Wake-up Lights, I was almost on board with buying one of these and lately with all the research I have been doing into what I am going to do with my Z-wave system once unlocked I thought about the Philips Hues. I read an article on How-to-Geek about using the Hues for a 30min fade in for a natural sunrise alarm clock. Then I did a quick search on Z-Wave Light Bulbs and came across the Aeotec Z-Wave Led Light bulb http://aeotec.com/z-wave-led-lightbulb The light looks awesome and when compared to the Philips seems like it has much better functions, plus to match that with their room sensor would be awesome. I guess my big question and concern is would these light bulbs be compatible with 2GIG control panel or would I need something like Vera? If it is compatible with 2GIG how would something like that be controlled? Would I be able to do a 30min fade in to max brightness? Thanks ahead of time.
Forgot to mention, thesmarthouse.com specifies that it requires a Z-Wave gateway with the 500 series chip. I’m going to google this but any info is always welcome.
The 2GIG compatible $35 LinearLinc™ BulbZ is a Z-Wave controllable and fully-dimmable, instant-on LED screw-in light bulb that provides pleasant soft-white illumination. Equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb and using only nine (9) watts of energy.
Built in zwave repeater
750 Lumens
Basically, you screw it in just like any light bulb (only do this outside if your existing outside bulbs are regular bulbs that are enclosed), pair to panel, then go online and set up automation rules. Keep in mind that the interior switch will need to be kept in the “on” position.
I saw those, they certainly like a good deal. So those would work much like any other z-wave switch through alarm.com Would alarm.com allow automation rules that would allow for the simulated sunrise effect?
What about z-wave plus/500 series. I’m still looking but haven’t found what version the 2gig panel is using. I’ve seen a few controllers like veraedge or the new homeseer supporting wave plus and their devices. I would assume this is something that the GC3 would do.
Specific details on the GC3 are not available yet at this time, but plus is a possibility. You are able to set rules to dim the light to specific levels, and a few may be used to incrementally increase light level in the room at intervals.
30 min before sunrise, dim to 30%, 15 min before sunrise dim to 60%, etc.
Is there any limit to the number of automation schedule rules?
Yes, there is a limit. It is not an arbitrary hard number, but the panels will have a finite memory for rule storage. In general, you should not see it become an issue, but creating multiple schedules for a dozen or so lights in your house may see problems. In general I’d say to keep an eye out for errors if you are pushing more than 30 rules.
However, it also depends heavily on the type of rule. Automation triggers are small on space and many more can be used, but schedules based on sunset sunrise use more panel resources and are the first ones prone to errors.
Any other ideas then on how to accomplish the slow fade on? Any dimmer switches that the ramp rate can be drastically adjusted or any secondary controllers that are made for this? I’m guessing the best plan is stop being lazy and finally add a smartthings controller.
Lutron Radio Ra or Caseta. You would want to verify, but I believe slow fade and dimming options are available through the Lutron controls and these systems can be linked to Alarm.com.
A different primary controller will likely offer more flexibility to create multiple desired light level scenes which can be triggered in sequence.
